- Publisher: Bigben Interactive
- Release Date: Oct 3, 2019
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
- Unscored
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Jan 13, 2020Poor in content, form and substance, Paranoia: Happiness is mandatory involuntarily inscribes itself in the list of games that certainly do not bring the video game closer to the traditional role-playing game, but rather that underline the extreme differences and limits of the medium with respect to the characteristics of the paper versions.
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Dec 31, 2019Paranoia: Happiness is Mandatory is an isometric RPG set in a dystopian future, but the real dystopia is the game itself.
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Jan 3, 2020The only positive thing I can say about this game is that it convinced me to research the source material. The tabletop RPG is infinitely more interesting than this adaptation because it’s designed for human interaction - hence the name “Paranoia”. When the surprises and betrayals are scripted, the core of the game is missing. Happiness may be mandatory but, thankfully, to play this game is optional.
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Dec 16, 2019The concept seemed safe enough, but by making the lore so vague, the dialogue and RPG elements so weak, and the combat too clumsy, Paranoia hasn’t lived up to expectations. With a name so blunt you’d be expecting to feel chills, to be looking over your shoulder, to thrive for triumph over an oppressive system that you fundamentally disagree with. Paranoia does none of this, and instead offers up a diluted, animated version of their table-top success. There’s a joke in there somewhere regarding board games/bored games, but so powerful is the ennui I’ll let you figure that one out for yourselves.
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Dec 10, 2019Paranoia: Happiness Is Mandatory demands you be happy and obedient, but you're more likely to be bored and upset that you didn't play something else.
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Mar 9, 2020All of these issues in design and execution are really a shame, since they mean that Paranoia: Happiness is Mandatory is not enjoyable for any amount of time. The dialogue is clever and witty, and I enjoyed seeing Alpha Complex come to life in videogame form, but aesthetics can only carry something so far. While I can’t recommend this iteration. there’s always the pen-and-paper version for those who need a fix.
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Jan 6, 2020In contrast to its source material, Paranoia: Happiness is Mandatory is a bland RPG that is as slow as it is forgettable.
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Dec 19, 2019Paranoia feels like someone got hold of the license and then either couldn’t figure out what to do with it or had a lot of nice ideas that were then horribly constrained by budget and time. Were it budget-priced or still in Early Access, it might be forgivable. But as a full, major release? It’s too short, too annoying, and too uninteresting to recommend to anyone – even the most ardent of Paranoia fans.
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Dec 11, 2019Paranoia is geared towards this kind of playful arguments and collaborative storytelling more than it is simulation. You can’t easily replicate scenarios like the above in a video game, so to port the setting into a standard computer RPG requires… more. I do wish Paranoia: Happiness Is Mandatory had been a bit more daring in the attempt.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 10 out of 22
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Mixed: 3 out of 22
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Negative: 9 out of 22
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Dec 8, 2019
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Mar 28, 2020